10 tips to avoid a financial hangover this Christmas

Is your bank balance blissfully in the black, or as red as Rudolph's nose? To help us all avoid the budgeting blues this January, we asked Mumsnetters to share their tips for avoiding a festive financial hangover

1. Embrace your competitive nature

"My husband and I challenge each other for the most creative present within a
budget - this year it's £25."

"What really keeps me in check is competing with myself to come under the
budget I have set."

2. Work out whom you're trying to impress

"It helps that my children are younger, but I remind myself that generally
they don't care how expensive/inexpensive the gift is."

3. Try not to leave it until the last minute

"I find it quite useful to think about stuff for
the kids and ask my family for their ideas in early November, so that I can get
some presents on that month's pay packet."

4. You could always start planning really, REALLY early...

"I shop in the January sales, picking up Christmas decorations and cards for the next
year."

5. Or ignore all that, and hold your
nerve

"Shop on Christmas Eve when all the prices are slashed."

6. Learn to spread the pain

"I have a £1 jar that I pop the odd bit of change in every now and then. This really is fantastic because in November I opened it and discovered I'd managed to put away £270."

"What's worked for me is to have a second current account which functions as a holiday account - we put money into it each month to build up for our summer holiday, then after that to build up for Xmas."

"Christmas is the same date every year so should be easy to plan for. Either buy throughout the year or put a certain amount away each month, or mixture of both."

8. Homespun can mean quids-in

9. Spend AND save

"I use a credit card all year for day-to-day spends, and pay it off in full each month when it falls due. I collect all the reward points and then, by the end of the year, I tend to have £250-300 in reward vouchers."